"Less is more" can be applied to just anything in life. Even that simple phrase already holds a lot of meaning. We have probably heard of it many times or at some point yet we fail to apply it in our lives.
People raced to finish school, to get that career, to earn more money, to be the boss, to buy that car, to buy that house, to have more things, to do more, to be more than what we already are.
I admit that I was once one of those. I just wanted to finish university so I could get a proper job. For what? So I could afford to buy more stuff, for what? So I could probably impress my friends, colleagues, my relatives, so you know - not to feel ashamed. But why was it always about the other people? Most people try to acquire more to impress the others. Are we really happy living this version of ourselves? Are we really like just conforming and just following the same pattern.
This is my time, to do whatever I want, like what I really want. I’m going against the society now and I don’t care. I’ve done it all, tried to have it all but apparently things will never be enough. So I finally called it - enough is enough!
After all the stress and frustration in my job, I finally quit. I sold my stuff, everything. Even my pet tarantula. I bought a 32L Deuter and packed everything in this small fuckin' backpack.
4 years later, I still have that travel backpack, worn-out and all. It had gone through a lot of things. I saved it from a lot of danger too. When fellow female travelers with all their fancy big Northface or Deuter backpacks saw mine, they couldn’t believe I was able to live for years with just less stuff. Especially as a woman, because we all know we use more stuff. Maybe because I have always been a low maintenance person, which is good when you are traveling. So what was in the bag for the last four years of traveling and living in other countries?
1 Camera (I lost it 2x and replaced it one action camera, lost it too. So I used my cellphone)
1 Laptop (I lost it 2x so yeah I bought my third one, sigh...)
1 Cellphone (I lost it for the nth time in my life, fml!)
Lots of underwear
Two to three red lipsticks
4-5 Casual shirts and 1 dress (In case I will go out and party)
Socks
1 Pair of Converse sneakers (Replaced it with winter boots at some point)
Flipflops
1 Notebook and pen (For writing)
Shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, razor (Brands in different languages)
1 Book
1 Tent (I left it in Russia)
1 Sleeping bag
1 Landyatchz longboard (I sold it cheaply to a young, local friend in The Galapagos)
1 Cheap perfume
Shorts
A pair of blue jeans
Bikinis
Ok, so that was my life in a backpack. I tried to minimize it so I was adding, eliminating and replacing stuff all the time. I was hitchhiking and moving a lot and I didn't want a heavy backpack. At some point, I realized it was too small and that I wished I had that bigger backpack like what the privileged ones have (Actually I just couldn’t afford a new one lol).
Anyway, my point is yes, it is possible to live simply or just with less, because you know what? You will not have that heavy baggage anymore, you will be free to run when you need to, live anywhere you want to and do whatever you want. With less, you will be able to do more.
With the less I had, I was able to gain more experience. With this experience, I was able to write more and inspire more.
Just like with steemit, if you concentrate more on the quality of content, you would be able to gain more. Less is more to all aspects of life.
We’ll find out later that having a lot of things will not give life a real meaning. Having things is good for sure because it signifies our achievement and human potential. But life is not all about that. These things are a temporary satisfaction. It’s like that fast food meal you eat, it gives you the illusion that you are already full, but a few hours later, you’re hungry again.
Anyway, the more we acquire things, the more stress and anxiety it can give us. You suddenly become cautious not to lose those things. Feel free to buy anything you want, but remember that the attachment to these things will only lead to unhappiness. Be prepared to lose them though, and let them go when you have to...
Life is all about new experiences, so go out and travel more. Remove that stress and clutter in life, stop being too cautious. We will lose things eventually but we can easily replace them anyway. But your life experiences will remain, those cannot be taken away from you.
We cannot base our happiness on the tangible things we possess. We should look into our hearts and find that happiness is just within us, waiting to be awakened. Waiting to be experienced.
